R.H. Hurley, PhD

Turfgrass Specialist: Golf and Sports Turf.

Rutgers University,

Center for Turfgrass Science, retired

Breeding Improved bentgrasses since 1982

to Include the "Super Bent" advanced generation varieties 007 and 777.

The new class of "Super Bents" have the greatest opportunity for success in cool season climates for grassing greens, tees and fairways.

"Super Bents" will produce a turf showing greater disease resistance / lower fungicide use, finer leaves, a denser turf that is more tolerant to close mowing.

Within the "Super Bent" class are the varieties 007, 777 as well as MacKenzie, Flagstick and Tyee.

ph: 570-350-8906
hurlrich1987@gmail.com

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Richard Hurley, PhD, CPAg, is a turfgrass specialist with over 50 years' experience in the turfgrass industry: turfgrass breeding, selecting the most desirable grasses for use, best turf management practices and procedures, and use of grasses on golf courses, sports fields, home lawns, and landscaping.

Dr. Hurley is one of only a few agronomists in the world who has been awarded a PhD degree (1983) in turfgrass breeding. Most importantly, he studied under the direction of Dr. C. Reed Funk, the world renown cool season turfgrass breeder, while attending Rutgers University.

It was 38 years ago, when Dr. Hurley asked Dr. Funk to join him in initiating a creeping bentgrass breeding program designed to improve the qualities of bentgrasses for golf course use.

Subsequently, after 10 years of germplasm collection, parental evaluations, putting green turf trials, and hybridization, it was time to develop the first varieties from this bentgrass breeding program. It was the early 1990's, when Dr. Hurley, working in cojunction with Dr. Funk and Dr. Virginia Lehman, developed the very successful L-93 creeping bentgrass variety. The "93" in the name L-93 was selected to indicate the year (1993) the variety became fully commercially available.

More recently, Dr. Hurley has utilized the year (2007) in the naming of his new, Rutgers bred, creeping bentgrass variety known as 007. At this time, 007 bent is widely accepted by golf course superintendents, with seed demands skyrocketing. Golf course superintendents are now selecting 007 as their most desired choice for seeding greens, fairways and tees.

In 2017, Dr. Hurley working with Dr. Stacy Bonos at Rutgers released the variety known as 777 (Triple Seven). The new 777 bentgrass has shown to provide excellent heat tolerance while producing a putting surface that is fine and dense while tolerating a close height of cut.

With a reputation for practical and easy to follow recommendations designed to solve your turf problems, Dr. Hurley responds to troubleshooting on golf course renovations, shade issues, weed control, water quality, fertilization, diseases, and insects. He is also an excellent source for developing long-range plans and efficiency audits.

Project history includes sites in the U.S., Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Europe, Russia, Japan, China, Australia and South Africa.
Consultations by arrangement -- yearly retainer with scheduled site visits; or individual full- or half-day site visits.

Photo below: Golf trips in Scotland has been an annual affair for the past 25 years with the opportunity to play all of the famed linksland courses. This picture was taken in the highlands of Scotland.

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